


Sunlight

by ParadiseAvenger



Series: Kink Meme Fills [13]
Category: Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Genre: Blood and Injury, Discrimination, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Kink Meme, Knotting, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-13
Updated: 2015-03-13
Packaged: 2018-03-17 16:47:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3536807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ParadiseAvenger/pseuds/ParadiseAvenger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>“If loving her is heartache for me and if holding her means that I have to bleed, then I am the martyr. Love is to blame. She is the healing and I am the pain.”</em> – Trading Yesterday</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sunlight

Written while listening to Trading Yesterday’s song, “She is the Sunlight,” and the longer I listened to it, the more perfect it became. 

Kink meme fill. Prompt at the bottom.

**X:Sunlight:X**

Jupiter Jones wasn’t sure what to make of the gown she found herself dressed in for the Avenant’s Benefit. In another lifetime, just a few months earlier, she would have swooned at the sight of the lovely thing. It was made of layer upon layer of the lightest lavender silks, laces, and chiffons. Tiny sparkling jewels were inset all over it, along the swell of her bust down to the sweeping train behind her. Through the folds of lace and sheer silk, tiny hints of her skin could be seen. Her breasts swelled against the neckline as she breathed and she put her hand nervously to them. 

On her feet, she wore a pair of heels that were a little more practical than her handmaiden had recommended, but at least she could walk in them. (As opposed to the towering eight-inch ballerina stilettos that had been picked out for her.) Dressed like this, with a small fortune of jewels hanging from her ears and an army of guards at her back, she finally felt like the queen she really was—at least on the outside. For the millionth time, Jupiter turned to examine the open back of the dress in the mirror and swiped at the loose curls around her face.

She was so focused on her dress that she didn’t hear the door to her suite ease open. The heavy step of gravity boots should have alerted her to his presence, but she was fiddling with her earrings and didn’t notice until his strong voice rang through her chambers.

“Your Majesty should stop worrying,” Caine said smoothly. He stepped up behind her and rested his chin on the top of her head, looking at their reflections in the angled array of mirrors. “You look beautiful,” he assured her.

Jupiter gasped and then immediately leaned into him to take her weight off her already-aching feet. “Caine,” she murmured and reached backwards to run her fingers along his cheekbone. She smiled faintly as she saw him lean into her caress, a little smile pulling his lips as she touched him. “I don’t know about all this.”

He nuzzled against her fingers and opened his eyes to examine her reflection. He looked like her shadow, so dark and broad in his armor behind the soft petals of her dress. Her small breasts rose and fell with her breaths and he looked down the line of her chest. 

“Caine Wise,” Jupiter said with laughter in her voice. “Did you just sneak a peek?”

Caine tilted his head in slight confusion. He had already seen Jupiter’s entire body bare on more than one occasion and he hadn’t been able to see anything beyond the tight curve of her dress just now. Instead of trying to answer, he dipped his head and kissed the side of her neck. Jupiter sighed in delight and slumped against him. Caine’s tongue traced, hot and wet, along her pulse. He nibbled her skin, his teeth scraping lightly, and then sucked ever so gently. Jupiter closed her eyes, her hand sliding along his jaw to hold him close.

“Stop, stop,” demanded a shrill voice.

Caine growled deep in his chest, his arm tightening around Jupiter’s waist as she sprung away from him in surprise. 

In the mirror’s reflection, they could see Jupiter’s handmaiden. She was a squirrelly sort of robot that had been in storage for several millennia since Seraphi Abrasax’s demise. Since Jupiter had recurred, the robot was part of her inheritance. Even though there were better models on the market now, Jupiter felt bad that the robot had been locked up for so long. Besides, when Jupiter had activated the robot, she had been so grateful that anyone with a heart would have kept her and Jupiter definitely had a heart.

“I will thank you kindly not to mark up Her Highness’s skin,” the robot snapped at Caine. “I just finished doing her makeup when you dragged yourself in.”

“Ava,” Jupiter put in before the two of them could start a fight—again. “I’ve asked you time and again not to pick on Caine.”

Ava sobered, the little gears and lights in her chest whirring. 

Smug, Caine pressed his lips to the back of Jupiter’s shoulder.

Placatingly, Jupiter continued, “But Ava’s probably right, Caine. I don’t think I should be walking into the Benefit with a bunch of hickeys in plain sight.”

Caine’s lips lingered warm on her skin for just a moment longer before he pulled away. Already Jupiter felt cold with the absence of him and his arms were still wrapped around her waist. 

Ava bustled around the room, opened Jupiter’s inherited jewelry box, and began pulling out baubles. She put aside as many as she selected and then put aside more than half of her choices. She returned with three necklaces of varying length and stones. “Which would you prefer, Your Highness?” she asked. 

Jupiter leaned into Caine a little more securely, feeling the hard planes of his muscles and his warmth through her thin dress. “You pick one for me, Caine,” she said. “That way I can think of you while I’m stuck mingling with all these Entitled.”

Caine’s breath puffed against her neck and she knew he wanted nothing more than to leave her with a necklace of kisses to remember him by. Instead, he selected one that was a simple diamond choker so that wandering eyes wouldn’t be drawn to the space between her breasts. Ava handed it to him curtly and Jupiter took a step forward to that he could put it on her. Caine’s hands were a little too big to fasten a necklace and he fumbled with it for a minute before managing the clasp. Jupiter smoothed the stones against her throat and studied herself in the mirror one final time. Caine remained at her back, his eyes like molten gold as he looked at her. 

“Let’s go, Your Highness,” Ava chastised. “You’ll be late.”

Jupiter nodded.

Caine offered his arm and she tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow. Together, the three of them exited her chambers and hustled down the hallway to the center of the ship. Jupiter’s elite guard, handpicked by Caine and Stinger to be with her when they couldn’t, were in their formal uniforms. They looked very neat and a little uncomfortable. Jupiter made a mental note to get everyone the equivalent of a beer when this function was over. 

“You wait here, Ava,” Jupiter told the robot. 

Respectfully, Ava stepped to the side and stood with her hands folded before her. 

A few of her guards descended before the Queen. Once they gave the signal, Jupiter stepped into the open air of the beam and felt herself begin to descend with Caine still at her side. The muscles of his arm were tense, but they always were whenever they were about to be seen together. Gently, the beam set them on their feet and Jupiter regained her balance. The remainder of the guards fell in behind them as they walked easily into the spectacular estate of the House Avenant.

The guards were politely peeled away to wait with the other Entitleds’ guards. Tucked in her cleavage, Jupiter had a tiny transmitter that would alert the guards if she was in any danger for any reason. If that happened, they would come running immediately, but Jupiter didn’t think anyone would come after her here. After all, this was House Avenant, not House Abrasax, and there hadn’t been a price on her head for a few moons. 

Then, a robot in a white satin dress approached and told them politely, “This benefit is for Entitled women only. I’m afraid your,” her eyes flicked over Caine like the gleam of twin daggers, “escort must remain here.”

Jupiter’s hand tightened on Caine’s arm. “That wasn’t indicated in the invitation,” she began to protest.

The robot bowed her head dutifully. “I am sorry for the inconvenience,” she assured them. “But as Lord Dorian is unable to attend and doesn’t wish for any men to be permitted near his sister, he insists.” 

Caine gently removed Jupiter’s hand from his arm and held it for just a moment as the robot watched them. “It’s alright,” he assured her. “You’ll be fine and I’ll just go back to wait with the guards.”

Jupiter nodded slowly.

“Right this way, Your Highness,” the robot said courteously. 

Caine’s hand lingered on the soft skin of Jupiter’s wrist just a little longer than she expected. When she turned to look at him, his eyes were soft. She smiled at him, still holding his hand as she turned to follow the robotic host. His fingers slid against hers, rough calluses to her soft skin, until they were no longer touching. 

The robot opened the grand doors onto a magnificently decorated ballroom. Tables of levitating delicacies moved slowly, pausing when someone reached for them. The chandelier sparkled overhead, sending rainbows across the marble floor. Young women Jupiter’s age and refined matriarchs old enough to be her mother interspersed with grandmotherly elders filled the room. They all glimmered as though carved from jewels. Laughter was everywhere.

A little ribbon of tension slipped off Jupiter’s shoulders like a muff being put away by an attendant. She accepted a glass of something in a golden flute, took a sip, and moved silently around the edge of the crowd. A few people recognized her as the recurrence of Seraphi Abrasax while others saw her as the Queen in her own right. 

“Queen Jupiter,” came a high voice. 

Lady Doriana of House Avenant (1, 2) was only a little younger than Jupiter, but it showed. Her long red hair was fastened in a simple ponytail and tied off with a blue bow at the base of her neck. She wore a lovely gold dress with sheer sleeves that belonged on a princess. A blue sash that matched her bow was cinched tight around her perfect narrow waist. A length of pearls dangled long around her neck, swinging with her movements, and a wide crown inset with more pearls adorned her head. Jupiter could see why Lord Dorian would worry for his sister in a room full of scheming Entitled men, but Jupiter wasn’t sure Doriana was much better off with just Entitled women.

Doriana dropped into a slight curtsey, lifting the full golden skirts of her dress, and then beamed at Jupiter. “I’m glad you could make it,” she said cheerfully. “My brother was so looking forward to meeting you. He had some kind of proposition to offer you.”

Jupiter’s smile wavered, pinching at the corners. Despite Doriana’s apparent naïveté, Jupiter had no doubts about the kind of proposition Dorian had wanted to offer her. Jupiter got them by the dozens almost every day from other Entitled thinking they could take advantage of her status and how new she was to their world. Unfortunately for them, Jupiter had Caine and Stinger to help her along and nothing slid under those two except the occasional innuendo.

“Do you like my party?” Doriana continued as though unaware of Jupiter’s inner monologue.

“It’s lovely,” Jupiter assured her. “It looks as though you’ve spared no expense.”

Doriana shook her head and smiled. “Well, I’d better go off to mingle. Thank you again for coming, Your Highness.”

Abruptly, there was a loud crash and a sort of choked howl on the other side of the doors that they were standing near. Jupiter and Doriana both paused, turning to look at the source of the sound, but it was quiet now. The sounds of the party drowned out any other sounds that might have reached them. Someone must have told a good joke because the laughter was suddenly much louder.

“What was that?” Jupiter asked.

Doriana shrugged and adjusted the neckline of her dress. “I don’t know. It might have been one of my servants. They can be pretty clumsy,” she said dismissively. “If something’s wrong, my bodyguard will come tell me.”

Jupiter nodded slowly and watched Doriana disappear back into the circle of dancers. She sipped whatever she picked up and nibbled whatever levitated by her, content to observe the party from a distance and talk to the people who sought her out. Everything was very subdued and pretty normal. Jupiter let herself relax as her fingers absently traced the diamond choker Caine had fastened around her neck. She wished he was with her, but she knew he was probably happier back with the guards doing whatever it was they were doing. Being at social functions like this made Caine uncomfortable. 

Caine’s self-deprecating words rang in her head, ‘I have more in common with a dog than I have with you.’

Jupiter handed off her empty flute and accepted another, sipping it delicately. She mulled over Caine as she looked at the assembly of Entitled. If he was with her right now, he certainly would stand out in his all-black attire, but Jupiter wasn’t sure there was anything different enough about him to make it obvious. She could easily cover his ears with a hat to disguise them. Of course, the robots that patrolled the room slowly would be able to tell he was a Splice with their sensors and anyone who looked at him close enough would be able to see his sharp teeth and the line of his jaw.

Jupiter didn’t think it mattered whether he had been Spliced or not. She had the same mindset on Earth about interracial and gay marriages. People loved whom they loved and no one had the right to interfere with that. She wondered what the world’s politicians and leaders would think if she decided to reveal herself as the owner of the Earth and force them to repeal all those stupid old-testament laws. She chuckled privately to herself. 

Jupiter spotted Lady Doriana, put down her empty glass, and crossed to her. “I’m going to take my leave now,” she said politely. “Thank you for inviting me.”

Lady Doriana’s hands fluttered as though she wanted to hug Jupiter but restrained herself. “Thank you for coming, Queen Jupiter,” she said finally. “I hope you can meet my brother next time.”

“Of course,” Jupiter agreed even though she would like nothing more than to never receive another thinly-veiled proposition from devious Entitled as long as she lived. 

The robot in the white dress slid over to Jupiter and led her from the ballroom down the winding hallways back to the robot that had peeled Caine away from Jupiter. The two robots appeared to communicate silently for a moment before the second robot ushered Jupiter down the remaining passageways to where her guards had been left to wait. As she turned the corner with the robot, her guards filed out and stood patiently for her. Jupiter didn’t see Caine among them. 

Her Captain of the Guard, an elderly gentleman who had overseen Stinger during his early days at the Legion, offered her his elbow when she stumbled in her ungainly heels. “Your Highness,” he said kindly. “Are you ready to return to your ship?”

“Yes,” she told him and then asked, “Where’s Caine?”

The man arched his brow. “Why, he was with you last I saw him.”

“He couldn’t come into the Benefit with me,” Jupiter explained. “He said he’d come back here to wait with you.”

The captain shook his head. “He never did. I have not seen him.”

A little shard of ice slid down Jupiter’s spine. Suddenly, she thought of the way Caine’s touch lingered on her as though he didn’t want to be apart. She knew in her bones, in her blood, in her very soul, that something terrible had happened. Where was Caine? 

Jupiter whirled on the robot still standing a few feet away. “You’re tapped into this building’s security system and sensors,” she said firmly. “Tell me right now where Caine is.”

The robot’s chest lit up with a small display of colored lights and the gears in her head whirred noisily. Then, she told Jupiter, “Your escort has been detained.”

“Take me to him,” Jupiter said icily. “Right now.”

“Of course, Your Highness.” 

Jupiter bent down, took off her heels, and handed them to the captain. She lifted her skirt with one hand so she could walk more easily. She didn’t want to bother with her heels or appearance right now, not when she sensed that something was so wrong. With the platoon of guards flanking her back, Jupiter followed the robot quickly down the winding hallways back in the direction of the ballroom. Speckled on the pristine marble floor was a path of dark blood. It started as just a few drops here and there, as though someone had pricked themselves, but the deeper into the building they went, the blood increased.

“Weapons,” Jupiter said to her guards.

“That is not necessary,” the robot said smoothly.

Jupiter’s heart lurched as the path of blood turned into a pool. Whoever had been hurt had dragged himself away from the puddle, leaving a bloody smear that disappeared around the bend in the hallway. Jupiter pushed ahead of the robot with her guards hastening to keep up with her. A dark shape was hunkered against the wall, legs drawn close and arms tucked in to make as small a target as possible. Juptier’s heart stopped. There was no way…

“Get the medical team down here,” the captain ordered abruptly. 

“Caine!” she cried out and dropped to her knees beside him.

His blood was hot on her knees, seeping through the lavender silk of her dress and sticking to her skin. Jupiter’s hands fluttered helplessly at his shoulder, cheek, and waist, but there seemed to be no place she could touch that wouldn’t cause him more pain. She heard her guards moving around her, threatening the robot and calling for help, but she didn’t listen. Her hands trembled.

Caine had been more than beaten, he had been tortured. 

His face was sliced, especially near his eyes as though someone had intended to gouge them out but he had managed to prevent them. The points of his ears had been cut away and a jagged wound marred the skin of his throat. The corner of his mouth had been slashed and blood dripped from his lips. As he shifted, breathing in shakily, Jupiter realized his sharp canine teeth had been torn out. Gaping holes remained in his mouth.

Caine’s eyes fluttered weakly, but didn’t open. He lifted one hand as if to reach for her and Jupiter saw that the first knuckle on each of his fingers had been cut off. Delicately, she grasped his hand while being careful not to touch his injuries. The smooth curve of his ribcage was jaggedly crushed and his knee was twisted at an awkward angle that was surely broken. His heavy gravity boots had been stripped away, revealing deep cuts on his soles.

Caine’s eyes cracked open. They were out of focus, but he managed to fix his gaze on Jupiter’s face. “Maj… J-Jupiter,” he whispered. 

“Caine,” she whispered desperately. “Oh god, Caine. What happened?”

His head lolled gingerly on his shoulder, opening the wound on his throat again. Jupiter quickly cradled his cheek to steady him and a little hiss of pain slipped from his lips. She felt that the bones of his face were shattered beneath the skin. She couldn’t believe someone had done this to him. Tears of rage welled in her eyes, but she blinked them back. 

Suddenly, the medical team from Jupiter’s ship closed around them. They lifted Caine very gently onto a stretcher and Jupiter tripped to her feet, still holding his hand as gently as she could. The guards fell in around them, ushering everyone back to the ship as quickly as possible. The beam carried them into the ship and then a whirlwind of desperate action came around them. 

Ava caught Jupiter’s elbow and tried to pull her away, but Jupiter jerked free. Nothing and no one was going to take her from Caine’s side now. She hastened along beside the medical team into the sick bay where they eased him onto a bed and began cutting away his clothes. The damage to his body was even more extensive than Jupiter had realized. Blood dripped off the edge of the bed and stretcher, splattering softly on the floor.

One of the doctors ran a hand over Caine’s skin, just inches away, to take in the extent of his injuries. Then, with a shake of his head, he said, “This is terrible. Nothing short of RegenX will heal him.”

Jupiter’s mouth went dry. 

The doctor turned to look at her, a question in his eyes. 

Jupiter didn’t like RegenX and had made her opinion known, but now that Caine’s life was on the line… Would she trade the lives of one hundred people she didn’t know for the life of the man who had risked everything to save her? For the life of the man she loved? Unable to speak, she nodded before she had too much time to think about it. 

“Yes,” she gasped out. “Save him. Whatever it takes.”

The medical team unfolded like insects to pollinate a flower. They removed RegenX from its cabinet and began attending to Caine. They soaked cloths with it and laid it over his tattered ears, poured some into his mouth, and sprayed it along the cuts on his face. They submerged his severed fingers in a basin of it. Caine whimpered, little sounds of agony escaping his lips as his body knit itself back together. Jupiter pressed herself into the corner of the medical bay and just watched. Tears dripped slowly down her cheeks.

…

Caine woke in slow layers. Each breath rattled in his lungs, rasped in his sore mouth, and burned in his shattered ribs. His body ached and his skin felt too tight. He could feel himself mending, though. Something warm cradled around his uninjured hand and something soft tickled his bare forearm. He opened his eyes and recognized the bright fluorescent light of the medical bay. He closed his eyes again and breathed through his nose. The broken cartilage crackled faintly as he did so. All he could smell was his own blood.

Wearily, Caine opened his eyes again and looked around as best he could. His neck throbbed as he moved. He flexed his fingers and felt soft skin against his calluses. Peering over the mound of soaked bandages and basins of RegenX scattered around and on him, he saw a head of long dark hair resting on the mattress at his hip. 

“Jupiter?” he whispered.

She didn’t stir.

Caine watched her back rise and fall gently with her breathing. She was sleeping. Curious, he just gazed at her. She was still wearing her fine gown, but it was splattered with his blood. He didn’t think he had ever woken in the medical wing with someone at his side. No one had ever cared enough to sit at his bedside, cry over his wounds, and pray that he woke up in the morning. He squeezed Jupiter’s hand gently, reassuring himself that she was here with him. 

With a soft murmur, Jupiter shifted. She picked her head up from the mattress, pushed back her mussed hair, and studied him. It took her a moment to realize that he was awake. Jupiter jolted to her feet and gingerly touched his once-broken cheekbone. Caine hissed, his healed skin and bones oversensitive beneath her fingertips. 

“Oh my god, Caine,” Jupiter gasped. Tears welled on her lashes and dripped down her cheeks. “You’re alive. You’re okay. Are you okay?”

Caine nodded slowly, stricken by the sight of her tears. 

Jupiter called for the doctor and he hustled into the bay. Carefully, he pulled away the RegenX-soaked bandages and examined the healed flesh beneath. Caine’s ears, teeth, and assorted cuts had healed nicely, but his severed fingers were still in the finishing stages. He added a little more to the basin and then left them alone.

Jupiter gently stroked Caine’s arm, the back of his hand, and the smooth curve of his bare ribs. 

He closed his eyes and absorbed her touch, anchoring himself through the pain that still lingered.

“What happened?” Jupiter whispered.

Caine kept his eyes closed.

Jupiter’s breath hitched. “You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want but…” she sniffled. “Caine, someone tortured you. I just want to know…”

He breathed out slowly, gathering himself before he spoke. “I told you, Jupiter, I have more in common than a dog than I do with you.” 

Jupiter’s fingers tightened around his hand and a little gasp of shock escaped her. “You mean… someone did this to you because you’re with me…”

“Because I’m a Splice,” Caine murmured. His voice was dry and cracked. “You can see… they tried to remove all evidence of my Splice to send a message.”

Jupiter stared at him, tears dripping slowly down her cheeks as she recalled his sliced ears and pulled teeth. “You knew? You knew something like this would happen?”

Caine nodded. The new skin on his throat ached, his gums hurt, and he struggled to swallow. 

“Why would you be with me?” Jupiter whispered. “Knowing that you would be hurt?”

Caine freed his hand from her grasp and reached to cup her face. Jupiter hesitated before leaning into his touch. He stroked the damp line of her cheek and jaw, traced the curve of her ear, and smoothed back her soft tresses as though she was the one that needed comforting. 

“Caine, why?” she whispered when he didn’t answer. 

“I love you,” he said simply. 

Fresh tears slipped down Jupiter’s cheeks, dripping off her chin. “But you’ve been hurt so badly,” she whispered. “You shouldn’t be with me if…”

Caine put his finger to her lips, silencing her. “Will you stay with me?” he murmured softly. 

Jupiter nodded, her throat flashing as she breathed. 

Caine’s smile was gentle and filled with light. “Here,” he said softly.

Caine slid over as best he could to make space for her on the bed. Gingerly, Jupiter lay down beside him and draped her arm across his waist. Her fingers traced an old scar as he cradled her to his side. She was warm and soft. Though he couldn’t smell anything beyond his own blood, he knew her scent by heart. She was the most precious person in his life. He wouldn’t give her up for anything.

“I’ll never leave you alone again, Caine,” Jupiter whispered. “I promise, I promise. I’ll keep you with me so no one will ever hurt you again.”

Caine nuzzled into the top of her head. “I would like that,” he murmured. A little hiss of pain escaped his lips as he shifted to curl more tightly against Jupiter. 

She snuggled into him, her fingertips stroking the bare skin over his heart. It took only a few minutes for Caine to collapse back into an exhausted sleep, but Jupiter lay awake for much longer. She couldn’t believe how ignorant people could be, even though they claimed to be more advanced than her people on Earth. They were still stupid enough to hate someone for their skin, their features, the things they couldn’t help. She couldn’t believe they would go far enough to torture Caine, to cut away the parts of him they didn’t approve of, the parts of him that were different.

Jupiter traced the point of Caine’s ear, newly-healed, and wished she could move enough to kiss him. She didn’t want to disturb him while he slept, especially after everything he’d been through, simply for being with her. The thought crossed her mind that maybe she should send Caine away, separate herself from him so that she was certain he would be safe, but she knew that would only hurt him more. His confidence was crippled by his life and he was only now just beginning to emerge from his shell. If she abandoned him, he would crumble. She couldn’t bear that.

Jupiter nestled against his side, soaking up the heat of his body. She closed her eyes and listened to his even breathing. Caine was still breathing and she could hear his heart beating steadily. His life was a comfort. All of him was a comfort to her. She wouldn’t trade him from the world.

She touched the line of his ribs, broken beyond repair only hours earlier. She had to do something about this, but she couldn’t be sure how long it would take to shape the very foundation of the universe. Everyone she met scorned Splices, used and abused them, discarded them as easily as clothing. It would be nearly impossible to change an outlook like that overnight. It would take years to smooth the rumples of society. Until then, the best thing she could do was just keep Caine close to her side and make examples of the people who dared hurt him. 

…

Even with the RegenX, it took the better part of three days for Caine to heal back to full strength. Jupiter saw him staring down at his fingers often, flexing them, and wondered if he was remembering how terrible it must have been to have them cut off. Sometimes, he touched his ears and she saw his jaw work as he traced the line of his teeth. 

From Stinger, Jupiter learned that this wasn’t the first time Caine had been hurt for being a Splice, but it was the first time he had been hurt so badly. Her skin crawled with the memories of finding him in that hallway, broken and bloody. The image haunted her nightmares. Though Jupiter had asked, Caine never admitted who had hurt him.

“Caine,” Jupiter called gently, breaking him from his musings.

He turned to look at her, his eyes gleaming like jewels. “Yes, Your Majesty?”

“Come with me,” she said.

His brow lifted as he approached her. She was wearing the same lavender dress that she had worn when he had been hurt at House Avenant. It hadn’t been cleaned and his blood was still splattered on the pale fabric. She offered him the same diamond choker and he obligingly fastened it around her throat. 

“Where are we going?” he asked.

Jupiter tucked her hand into his elbow, even though she was barefoot beneath her dress and didn’t need his support. “You’ll see.”

Caine’s arm was tense beneath her hand as they stepped into the beam and were lowered to the marble foyer of House Avenant. Lord Dorian and Lady Doriana were waiting for them, elaborately dressed in gold and blue finery. Though Doriana beamed at the sight of Jupiter, her face went pale as she took in Jupiter’s bloody dress and the Splice at her side. Dorian’s lips pulled back over his teeth, scorn lining his face as he studied them.

“What is the meaning of showing up at my home in this way?” Dorian demanded.

Jupiter lifted her dress away from her legs, displaying the bloodied skirt to its fullest. “Don’t you like it?” she asked flippantly. Then, she pinned him in place with her eyes like daggers. “You think you would admire your own handiwork.”

Caine froze beside her, shocked.

Dorian’s eyes flashed to Caine and he snarled, “What are you implying?”

Jupiter stood her ground, every bit the enraged Bolotikov she was behind the queenly or American exterior. “What do you think I’m implying?” she hissed. She put a finger to her lip pensively, tapping as though she was thinking. “Maybe that you rigged your sister’s gala to separate me from Caine so you could torture him?”

“Why, I never—”

“Astounding that no one else figured it out,” Jupiter growled. “It took longer than I would have liked to identify who tortured Caine, but now that I’ve figured it out,” she said and glared at him. “I’m going to give you two choices. Either you get down on your knees and beg for Caine’s forgiveness or I get Aegis involved.”

“Aegis doesn’t care about a lowly Splice,” Dorian ground out.

“Don’t they?” Jupiter asked curtly. “That’s funny because I spent my time having this law passed in relation to my planets and anyone who lives on them, including Caine.” She handed Dorian a sheaf and let him read over the new law. Boldly, it announced that the punishment for hatefully injuring a Splice or any other altered being was to have the same thing done to the inflictor—an eye for an eye. 

Dorian’s face went white. 

“Well?” Jupiter asked.

Dorian slid smoothly to his knees in front of her and bowed his head. “Your Highness, I am terribly—”

Jupiter cut him off. “I don’t want you to apologize to me. I said you must beg Caine for forgiveness.”

The veins in Dorian’s neck bulged, but he turned slowly to face Caine. “I am sorry,” he said flatly.

Jupiter nudged him with her foot. “You can do better than that,” she chastised. 

Dorian hissed between clenched teeth. “I am terribly sorry for my actions. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?”

Caine glanced at Jupiter for reassurance.

She nodded.

“Yes,” Caine murmured.

Dorian practically jumped back to his feet and glowered at them through his lashes. 

“We’ll take our leave,” Jupiter said plainly. “I may not be so merciful the next time I hear so much as a rumor that you’ve hurt another Splice. You may as well spread the word to whoever else was involved. I’ll be knocking on their doors as I find them.” She paused, fixing her eyes on Dorian. “And I will find them.”

Dorian gritted his teeth. “Yes, Your Highness.”

Together, Jupiter and Caine ascended back into her ship and the beam deposited them gently on their feet. Jupiter didn’t give Ava any time to talk to them or chastise her for wearing a bloody dress out in public. She led Caine down the hall to her chambers, towed him inside, and closed the door behind them. Jupiter turned her back to him so he could help her out of her diamond choker and unzip her tattered lavender dress. In her panties and bra, she stood before him. Timidly, Caine held her shoulders and dipped his head to rest his forehead against hers.

“Why would you do that?” Caine whispered.

“For you,” Jupiter answered easily. 

“But why?” he asked.

Jupiter nuzzled him, her nose bumping his. “Because I love you,” she answered as simply as he once had.

“How did you find out hurt me?” he asked. “I never…”

“It turns out that I’m Entitled to a lot more than free parking,” Jupiter said. “Once I started asking the right questions, it was easy to figure out which Entitled at that Benefit had something against Splices. I’ve also had his slaves confiscated. They’ll get the medical attention they need and Stinger will help them find new lives.”

Caine lowered his head and kissed her reverently.

Jupiter smiled against his mouth, her tongue darting out to taste him. Caine dissolved into her, his arms circling her near nudity and pulling her against him. Hungrily, Jupiter ran her hands up his back and over the small prosthetic containments that held his wings inside, tracing the faint scars where they had been inset into his body through the small openings in his shirt. She caressed the column of his spine, following it down to the waistband of his pants. He shivered as she touched his oversensitive skin, even with the barrier of his armored shirt between them. 

“Let me touch you,” Jupiter pleaded.

Caine toed off his heavy gravity boots. He pulled away long enough to help her peel off his shirt and pants. Naked, he cradled her to his chest. She cuddled against him, lips tracing his throat and jaw before she kissed him again. Her tongue sought his out, dancing along the sharp line of his teeth. Her hands cupped his ears, smoothed down his shoulders, and took his healed hand. He trembled as she traced the faint line where his fingertips had been severed. 

Holding him close, she led him to her bed and helped him sit down on the soft silk sheets. Caine held her hands, confused, as she knelt at his knees. He looked down at his queen as she clasped his member in her hand and stroked gently. He could smell her arousal, her desire, and her love as she caressed him. Jupiter’s lips parted and she engulfed the shiny head of him in her mouth. Caine groaned in pleasure as the wet heat of her wrapped around him. Her tongue stroked his pulsing vein.

“Jupiter,” he whispered. “D-don’t.”

Jupiter drew back slightly, her fingers still encircling his broad base. “You don’t like it?”

He trembled. “I do. It’s just…”

Jupiter stroked him gently, patient as he gathered his thoughts.

He said helplessly, “I’m not…”

“Caine,” Jupiter said evenly. “I know what you’re thinking and you’re wrong. You’re everything to me. You’re worth everything to me.”

A tremulous breath escaped him.

Jupiter swallowed him again, her tongue stroking along the sensitive sides and swirling around the head. The knot at his base began to swell beneath her fingers and she squeezed gently in return. Caine groaned softly and clutched at the sheets with his free hand. The other tightened around Jupiter’s fingers. His healed knuckles ached with the sudden movement and pressure, but he barely felt it beyond the pleasure of her mouth. Every feeling of her lips and tongue was new enough to bring tears to his eyes.

No one had ever knelt before him for any reason, especially not to give him pleasure, and he had never expected his queen to do so for him. He had never expected her to do something like this at all, but it felt so wonderful. He had never felt so worthy, so loved, so treasured. Jupiter sucked his tip gently and he almost came right then. It was all he could do to push her back and gasp for breath. Jupiter stroked him from base to tip, feeling the slick wetness of his precum mixed with her saliva. Caine whimpered in delight.

“Caine?” Jupiter asked.

He tugged her forward and she rose smoothly to her feet. Gingerly, she slipped into his lap and straddled him. The head of his length bumped her overheated core and she held his member even with her opening. Slowly, she sank onto him. Caine groaned as the wet heat of her channel clenched around him. She moaned softly as he filled her to the brim. Once he was fully sheathed inside her, she remained still as they both absorbed the feeling of being together. It was everything Jupiter had ever wanted and everything Caine never thought he’d have.

Slowly, Jupiter grasped his bare shoulders and lifted herself up. Caine groaned and rocked his hips beneath her. They fell into an easy rhythm, cuddled together in her bed as Caine moved slowly inside her. She kissed him gently and often, lips worshiping every scar and remembered injury that she could reach. The skin of his throat was especially sensitive. Though she wanted to nip and suck to leave marks that let everyone know he was hers, she didn’t want to hurt him even the tiniest bit. He deserved every kindness she could offer him and more.

Caine shuddered as she gingerly licked the new skin on his throat. She lifted her chin to kiss his lips and his mouth opened like the petals of a flower. Jupiter’s tongue dipped inside and he could taste himself on her. Tangling, he anchored her hips and thrust into her. She moaned as the long length of him slid out nearly to the tip and then pushed all the way back inside. Caine buried his face into the side of her throat, his tongue snaking out to lap against her pulse. Jupiter trembled as his teeth scraped, but he never bit down and never hurt her. 

Pleasure built in Jupiter’s core like water behind a dam, pressing warm and hungry against all her nerve endings. She needed a little more, a little faster, a little deeper. She clutched at Caine’s shoulders, shivering with want, but he continued his slow pace. He stroked and caressed her breasts, sliding slowly in and out of her until she was ready to beg. She kissed him with desperate fervor and hoped that he understood her unspoken plea. If he didn’t, she wanted him to take his time. This was about him, how he still chose to be with her after everything.

“Jupiter,” he murmured.

She inhaled slowly as the sound of her name on his lips sent shivers down her spine. “Yes?”

Caine tucked his mouth against her neck, his large hands folded over her breasts, and his hips angled deeper inside her. Everywhere they touched was like a small explosion of fireworks. “Can I…?” he asked timidly.

“Yes,” Jupiter assured him even when he couldn’t finish his question. Whatever he wanted, she wanted too.

Very gently, Caine tightened his arm around her hips and pulled her flush against his chest. He rose onto his knees and carefully lifted them up without ever breaking where they were joined together. Jupiter gasped quietly in surprise, but she trusted Caine. He would never hurt her. Gingerly, Caine laid her down against the pillows and she looked up into his face. He settled over her, her thighs wrapping around his hips as he sank into her more deeply. Jupiter moaned quietly, her eyelids fluttering, and Caine dipped his head to kiss her.

“Is this alright?” he asked softly.

Jupiter was already nodding.

This was the first time Caine had ever been on top of her, dominant. Usually, he lay beneath and let her do anything she wanted, looking up at her with eyes like golden lanterns. Now, the strength of his body and hands were at his advantage. He grasped her hips and began to thrust into her. Jupiter’s breasts bounced as he moved, her breath heaving at the pleasure that coursed through her body. Above her, Caine seemed to glow, filled with light and pride and love. His pace became erratic, plying shivers of delight and surprise from her.

“Jupiter,” he whispered and bowed his head into her neck. “I’m close.”

She tangled her fingers in his pale hair, stroking his neck and the tips of his ears. She kissed his forehead, his nose, his cheeks, whatever she could reach.

Caine lifted his head when she didn’t speak, didn’t demand he last long enough to bring her to her peak as well, didn’t scold him as he half-expected but had never received. Her eyes glowed and she smiled at him gently. She tugged the back of his neck a little closer, encouraging him, and he kissed her. His tongue snaked between her lips, delving deep and stroking against her teeth. Then, his orgasm rocked through him. His hips snapped against her, anchoring his body with hers, as he spilled warm inside her.

Jupiter gasped and her legs tightened around his hips, pressing him irrevocably deeper and welcoming him. The knot at his base—a cruelty left by his Splicer to make acceptance that much harder for the runt albino—swelled within her and she moaned quietly. It was the feeling of being stretched, filled, and held that brought Jupiter over the edge. Her walls clenched around him, milking the remaining seed from his body and holding it inside. Breathing shakily, Caine rolled onto his back and pulled her over him so that she could be comfortable while his knot diminished. 

“Caine,” Jupiter murmured as she rested her head on his chest. 

“Yes, Your Majesty?” he murmured.

She shivered, relishing those words on his lips, but there seemed to be nothing she could say in this moment. What words were there to give to this man, this Splice, who had risked his life to save her from the unkindness of the universe and still risked himself just to be with her? Even those three words that seemed like everything on Earth felt like nothing as she lay with him softening inside her. Instead, she lifted her chin and kissed him very gently with the hopes that her lips could convey everything she couldn’t articulate. 

Caine’s arms circled her, holding her close. Then, very softly, he whispered, “I wouldn’t give you up for all the planets in the universe, Jupiter.”

She snuggled deeper into his arms. Tears burned behind her eyes, but she squeezed them shut to prevent them from falling. Caine stroked her hair, her back, her bare skin. His fingers were alternately soft and callused. She melted into his touch, slow tears seeping beneath her lashes. She didn’t know what she had done to deserve this man, but she knew she was never going to let him be hurt again. For as long as she lived, she would be the one who protected him.

**X:Sunlight:X**

(1) Oscar Wilde’s novel, ‘The Picture of Dorian Grey,’ refers to Dorian as ‘Prince Charming,’ despite him being the furthest thing from it. (If you haven’t read it or at least seen one of the movies, you definitely should.) Since I switched up the gender at the last second, this is more of a pun for right now.

(2) Avenant means ‘beautiful’ in French. It was the name of the hero in ‘The Story of Pretty Goldilocks’ and it hinged with the translation of Prince Charming.

 **Prompt:** http://jakink.dreamwidth.org/724.html?thread=109524#cmt109524

Questions, comments, concerns?


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